Strange Bedfellows
by bldydestini
Summary: Who you move on with, greatly affects how you move on. Femslash. Maggie/Lena, BAM
1. Chapter 1

**Strange Bedfellows  
Chapter 1**

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_Paris, France  
Fall, 2010_

It was a beautiful fall evening in Paris. Clear sky, people bustling about; the streets busy but not crowded. It had just rained, and the condensation hung in the air, wet, like a satisfied lover. The beautiful brunette walked down the street seemingly oblivious, leaves squishing under the soles of her expensive black knee high boots. Her confident gait and the wool coat thrown haphazardly over her arm spoke of money and an upbringing of privilege that few could fathom.

Her clothes clung just slightly, allowing every passer-by a tantalizing view of the outline of her svelte body, from where her silk top outlined the ragged edge of her shoulder blade to the disobedient cling of her risqué black skirt. She felt the freedom of the city sweep through her, but her thoughts were too chaotic to allow for the solace to seep in. Several people had tried to make eye contact, both male and female, to no avail; still others just admired the raven haired beauty from afar.

But for those who chanced a closer look, the view was not quite the same. There was a weariness to her posture; an almost haunted quality to her face. As if too much weight from a life of unquenched desires had taken residence in her soul for her obviously tender years to carry.

Bianca Montgomery was a woman lost.

She was on her way to pick up take out from her favorite bistro at the end of another gruelling 16 hour day. _Take out for __**one**_, she thought mirthlessly.

Miranda was in Pine Valley visiting Erica and Jack, leaving the brunette alone. Most people would appreciate the break from the day to day hassles of motherhood, however for Bianca it meant not only being alone, but lonely.

No Zoë. No friends outside of Cambias staffers to speak of. No Maggie. She angrily shoved the thought of her ex out of her mind. She was left with just her job, her memories and her stifling regret to keep her warm at night. Sure, she could take a lover and she had at various times over the last year, since Zoë left. Nameless women with vaguely familiar features, but the encounters always left her feeling even more empty. It was beneath her and she knew it.

Catching the scent of jasmine on the wind brought images of Maggie swirling into her mind's eye once again. It was a scent she had always connected to the young doctor, intimately. She had been having dreams of her ex lately with increasing frequency; dreams of reunion and reconciliation. She knew she could track Maggie down, with her connections it wouldn't be hard. But every time she had picked up the phone to do so her damn pride got in the way. She wondered, as she paid for her dinner and turned to leave, if she would ever be able to take that step, put her pride aside and try to reconnect with the woman she had once considered to be her best friend.

As luck would have it, fate intervened.

Bianca was coming out of the bistro take out bag in her hand, not watching where she was going, and she careened into a woman who was on her way in.

"I'm so sorry. I wasn't watching where I as going--Maggie?" she said, finally looking up after having picked up her bag.

"Bianca, hi!" the smiling brunette said, straightening her hair. "Wow! This is funny, literally bumping into you like this. It reminds me--"

"Of the first time we met." Bianca finished for her.

"Exactly." Maggie said, stepping forward to hug her startled friend. "How are you?"

Bianca just stared, her ability to form words suddenly nonexistent. Maggie looked radiant, just like in her dreams.

After a few moments of silence, Maggie cleared her throat expectantly.

"Good…I'm…good." Bianca mumbled when at least she could speak.

"Well, you look great." Maggie said watching Bianca tuck hair behind her ear. It was an endearing gesture and one Maggie had always loved.

Bianca nervously shifted from one foot to the other, not knowing what to do with herself. Suddenly face to face with the woman she had been dreaming about and she couldn't think of a thing to say that wouldn't sound trite. She finally settled on the truth.

"I've been thinking about you a lot lately."

"You have?" Maggie asked, a hint of disbelief coloring her otherwise pleasant tone.

"Don't sound so shocked, Maggie." Bianca admonished with a wink. "Is it that hard to believe?"

"I'm sorry it's just--it's been a long time and --" She shrugged, not wanting to dredge up things and ruin a potentially breakthrough moment.

"And I'm the one who stopped communicating, I know." Bianca nodded.

Maggie looked around. "Where's Miranda? With Zoë?"

"There is no Zoë." Bianca proclaimed.

"Oh. I'm sorry." Maggie replied feigning sympathy.

"Don't be. I'm not." Bianca said, ignoring Maggie's confused look. "Listen, are you alone? I was just picking up dinner, but I could come back inside, join you. We could talk."

Seeing the hopeful look on Bianca's face Maggie heart sank. She looked around, checking the sidewalk, slightly apprehensive.

"Actually, I'm meeting a date. She's late, which isn't like her." Maggie said checking her watch. She did not want Bianca to be standing here when her woman arrived. It would be awkward to say the least.

"I see. I--" Bianca started.

Suddenly a woman wrapped her arms around Maggie from behind, burying her face in the brunette's fragrant hair.

"I'm sorry I'm late, sweetheart. My flight was delayed and I couldn't get a signal on my damn cell to call you." she mumbled into Maggie's neck.

Maggie turned slightly in the other woman's arms, trying to show they were not alone. "That's ok, baby. I ran into--"

"Bianca." The woman greeted and as Bianca looked up to meet the eyes of Maggie's statuesque companion, for the second time in a matter of minutes, she was struck mute.

"Lena?" she squeaked.

"It's good to see you again." Lena said, warmly embracing the younger brunette. If she was shocked she didn't show it.

"This is a surprise." Bianca stammered in the understatement of the year. Watching Lena take Maggie's hand in her own, Bianca's heart squeezed painfully in her chest. She was too late. "I'll umm…leave you two alone to enjoy your dinner." Dejected, she turned to walk away.

Maggie shot a pleading look to Lena, who just sighed. Her timing had been off since the day began.

"Bianca, wait." Lena called her back.

Bianca turned , clearly uncomfortable and starting to close herself off.

"I didn't mean to intrude." Lena explained gently. Turning to Maggie she said. "I'll get us a table. You two talk. I can wait. Take your time."

"Thank you." Maggie lovingly said, leaning in to place a gentle kiss on Lena's lips, hand on the polish woman's cheek. "So much."

Lena blushed. It was something Bianca had never seen her do. She tried to look anywhere but at the two of them and failed. She felt like such an outsider.

Maggie watched Lena disappear into the bistro and then turned back to her ex. The air now thick with unanswered questions.

"You and Lena?" Bianca asked finally.

"Yea, I know." Maggie said, chuckling and looking at her hands. "Strange bedfellows."

"I always thought you two hated each other."

"It's a fine line, Bianca. And we have a lot in common." Maggie stopped there, not sure Bianca needed or wanted to know any more.

"Indeed. How did--" Bianca trailed off, not entirely sure she wanted the answer to that question.

"It's a long story." Maggie replied, eyes roaming Bianca's face. _God, I missed her. She has just gotten more beautiful, if that's possible._

"One I hope you'll tell me sometime." Bianca said and she meant it. She wanted to reconnect with Maggie, it didn't matter how.

"I'd like that. Really. How about dinner next Friday? Is that good for you?" Maggie inquired expectantly.

Bianca was taken aback at the unexpected invitation. "Yes…I…" She took a deep breath to calm her wildly beating heart. "Yes. Can I have your number? So I can call you?"

"The number is the same." Maggie stated, the implication clear.

"Point taken." Bianca said, smiling bashfully. "But I _will_ call you."

Maggie ran her hand down Bianca's arm causing the younger woman to tremble minutely. She took Bianca's hand and gave it a meaningful squeeze.

"I look forward to it. Until Friday then? I've got to--" Maggie pointed over her shoulder toward the entrance of the bistro. Bianca could see Lena sitting by the window, looking at a menu.

"Of course." Bianca nodded. "Until Friday."

With a spring previously absent from her step, Bianca turned to go. _What a difference a day makes_, she thought with a smile on her face. Friday couldn't come soon enough.


	2. Chapter 2

**Strange Bedfellows**  
**Chapter 2**

Maggie let out a frustrated sigh. She surveyed the room and reached for the phone, dialling a number that had become more familiar to her than her own.

"Bon jour, my darling." the voice on the other end of the line answered, immediately putting her at ease.

"I don't have anything to wear." Maggie complained, sitting down on the rumpled bed. The warm laughter soothed her fragile psyche like a tropical breeze, wrapping her in its embrace as if the woman herself were in the room.

"If I had to guess, I would say you are sitting in your bedroom, the contents of your closet emptied onto the bed, wearing those cute pink kitten pajama bottoms I love so much." Lena said indulgently.

"And you would be right," Maggie replied. Kicking the clothes to the foot of the bed she burrowed under the covers. "I wish you were here."

"Why? Because you know I would clean up the mess?" Lena deliberately kept the topic light.

"No!" Maggie responded with mock outrage. "Although," she looked around at the fashion explosion, "it is a pretty big mess."

"I don't doubt it."

"Are you saying I'm a slob?"

The delightful sound of Lena's laughter once again filled her ears. It was a sound she had grown to treasure, much like the woman herself. The strangeness of their coupling was not lost on Maggie but for once in her life she was embracing something, in this case someone, without analyzing it to death.

"I miss you." Maggie said quietly.

There was silence on the other end of the line. The hitch in Lena's breathing the only sign the older woman had heard her.

"I miss you, too," Lena said after agonizingly slow moments had passed. _More than you know_, she added silently. "But we both know you would not be meeting Bianca tomorrow night if I were there."

"That's probably true," Maggie admitted. She had been truly and utterly happy to see Bianca again, even if the situation had become somewhat awkward once Lena had arrived. The dinner invitation had been extended because she now felt in a healthy enough place to reconnect with her ex.

But when Bianca had called, much to Maggie's surprise, a few days later to confirm, apprehension had coiled tightly in her belly. It remained there still, like a rock. It was unsettling to say the least.

Maggie knew she still loved Bianca, as much as she ever had, but the prospect of sitting across from her at dinner and struggling to make small talk scared her to death. And there would surely be questions, about her life, her relationship with Lena, about everything.

Many times since Bianca's call Maggie had found herself holding the phone in agitated and shaking hands, moments away from cancelling. The reason for her reticence remaining just out of reach, like a dream you can't quite remember upon waking. At this moment though, the reason was crystal clear. So many things had happened for both of them, what if they couldn't get past it all? Even more to the point, what if they could?

"It's only dinner, Maggie," Lena's silky voice brought her out of her reverie with one, clear thought. They both knew that this evening had the potential to be much more than just dinner.

"I know," Maggie sighed, "I'm being silly. But what if…"

Lena cut her off, knowing where this was headed. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." she said. "We knew this day would come eventually."

"_**You**_ knew." Maggie corrected.

"Yes, I did. As I have said all along, you owe it to yourself and Bianca to see if any feelings remain."

"I want to find out, I do. But…I just wonder…I don't…"Maggie's words trailed off. She seemed unable or unwilling to give voice to her fears.

Lena read her mind perfectly. "You won't lose me."

Maggie felt the truth of the sentiment imprinted on her very DNA. Lena had become a part of her, as improbable as it seemed. They would never be truly apart after this. It wasn't possible.

"How did I get so lucky to find you, Lena?"

"You've got that wrong, Maggie. It is I who am the lucky one."

The emotion in Lena's voice caught Maggie off guard. They rarely spoke of their feelings for one another, preferring to let their actions do the talking for them. When they did it was in broad terms, not defining ones. They never even breathed 'I love you' in the heat of passion.; though it had been on the tip of Maggie's tongue often enough.

Lena couldn't mean those words more if she'd uttered them every day. The tiny brunette had chipped away at the ice around her heart, formed when Bianca left, hardened when her mother died; taking up residence there more completely than anyone ever before, including Bianca. Of course she never spoke the feelings out loud.

It was exhilarating and frightening all at once because Lena knew what they had, no matter how intense, could only ever be fleeting. Maggie's heart belonged to another. The older woman was just keeping it safe until it could be returned to it's rightful owner, no matter that Lena felt said owner was wholly undeserving. It was a reality that had hovered around she and Maggie for sometime, like a ghostly mist, finally taking shape when Bianca had appeared.

Resigned as she was to the inevitable, there was no need to dwell on it now. They would face this as they had everything else, with clear eyes. Lena vowed to make sure it was safe for Maggie to return to Bianca before she let her go. And she would let her go, in the end, if Maggie wished it; no matter how much her heart had already started to crack. The idea of never hearing Maggie laugh again, never touching that flawless skin, never tasting…

"Lena?" Maggie's hesitant voice shattered a silence that had become all too common in their phone calls this week. She knew this dinner date weighed heavily on Lena, though the older woman would never admit it. Maggie hated that they never talked about it and she hated her seemingly incessant need to do so even more. Something would have to give, and soon.

Lena cleared her throat signalling a change in topic.

"You look wonderful in green." she said, returning to the reason for the call.

"Do I?"

"Yes." Lena breathed and goose bumps rose along Maggie's skin as if Lena had spoken the words against her flesh.

"You should wear that dress I bought you…remember?"

Maggie knew the one to which Lena referred. It had been Maggie's birthday and the dress was the elaborately wrapped gift. She vividly recalled modeling it for Lena. She also remembered Lena's trembling fingers and the torrid look in her eyes that had set Maggie's blood on fire as Lena had swiftly removed the garment; proceeding to make love to her with a reverence and passion that had stolen her breath, healing her and flaying her open in one painfully possessive act. Maggie's body flooded with wetness at the memory.

"That way," Lena continued, awash in her own memories of that night. "no matter what happens you will feel me surrounding you, touching you, holding you…all night."

The breathless whimper her words drew from the brunette's lips made Lena's head spin and a reckless, wanton thought came to mind.

"Maggie." the voice flowed over Maggie like warm rain, low and sultry, the accent thick. It made the brunette doctor throb with need.

"Touch yourself, Maggie. Be my hands."

"Jesus, Lena." Maggie gasped at what Lena was asking her to do as her hands slid through her own copious moisture. She brought her fingertips up to her mouth. Tasting herself she moaned loudly.

"You taste good, don't you Maggie?" Lena had guessed what Maggie was doing and from the reaction to her words she had been right. The image seared into her brain. "Imagine me touching you. I need to hear it, Maggie, your need…my name on your lips when you come. Please."

Maggie's left hand rose to her breasts, teasing the nipples as her right hand continued to pleasure herself; the phone cradled between her shoulder and ear against the pillow.

"My god, Lena."

"Can you feel me, Maggie? Can you feel me moving inside you?"

"Yes." Maggie gasped.

Lena was like a puppet master to Maggie's marionette. The command in her voice guiding Maggie's hands with beautifully obscene words.

"So deep, my darling. So deep I can almost touch your soul."

Maggie groaned and panted in Lena's ear, her ardent, erotic sounds pushing Lena to the edge of sanity, profane words she never used tumbled from her lips in wanton abandon.

"Pinch your nipples, Maggie. Twist those delicious peaks like I would."

Lena's fingers moved along her own flushed and heated skin, mirroring her words; easily conjuring up an image of Maggie, head thrown back, neck arched, undulating in ecstasy that for the moment only she could provide.

Maggie mewled and Lena could almost feel the telltale flutters against her own fingertips miles and miles away. She was waiting for the tiny sound the brunette always made just before she came. The sound that tore Lena asunder every time, made her desperate to being about Maggie's release.

"I'm Fking you so hard, Maggie." Lena knew Maggie loved that word when spoken from her cultured lips, at just the right moment. "And then I bite…"

And there it was, that maddeningly beautiful sound.

"Yes, baby…" the endearment wrapped itself around Maggie's heart as Lena panted in Maggie's ear, hand gripping the arm of the chair she sat in so tightly her knuckles turned white. "Come for me."

The whispered demand shot through Maggie's veins like quicksilver. With a strangled cry ripped from her throat and Lena's name on her lips she fell into shimmering release.

After her breathing returned to normal, Maggie was finally able to speak.

"I've never done that before." Maggie's bashful admission didn't shock Lena. For all her bluster and bravado she was still quite shy.

"Nor have I." Lena replied honestly. She'd had many firsts with the striking woman on the other end of the line. She could only hope there would be a few more before they drifted from each other's lives.

"I wouldn't be opposed to doing it again." Lena could hear the smile in Maggie's voice.

"Nor would I. You should get some sleep now, though. Dream of what we will do together when next we meet."

"I wish you were here now." Maggie said again. "I want to make love to you and fall asleep in your arms."

It was a disclosure that brought unexpected tears to Lena's eyes and a tremulous smile to her face. Maggie had confessed early in their relationship that she had never been able to relax enough to fall asleep in anyone's arms. She had made no excuses, simply accepting it as something that would not change. She could never do it, not even with Bianca. It just was.

The first time it had happened Lena felt so honoured she had stayed awake all night just watching her angel sleep. She still did, from time to time, cherishing the trust that had grown between them.

"You're in my arms, Maggie. Always." She could hear Maggie's breathing evening out, slumber was only moments away. "Pleasant dreams, my sweet. Have fun tomorrow"

"I'll try," was the groggy reply.

"Don't try, just do.

"Ok."

"Call me when you get home, no matter the time."

"Of course, goodnight Lena."

"Goodnight, Maggie." The line went silent before Lena could speak her next words.

"I love you," she whispered to the image in her head, knowing Maggie couldn't hear it, she was already gone.


	3. Chapter 3

This chapter was written in celebration of the International Day of Femslash.

**Strange Bedfellows**

**Chapter 3**

It was another warm fall evening, perfect for tourists and locals alike to be out enjoying the majesty of Paris as Bianca made her way to the restaurant Maggie had chosen for the evening. The breeze, once again, carried the scent of jasmine and Bianca thought it fitting for the occasion since it was a scent she always associated with her ex.

She had arrived fairly early, not being familiar with the restaurant and had taken a table in a lesser populated area of the dining room, close to a window. She hoped Maggie didn't mind. The brunette had picked the place and set the time, the first of many surprises in store for the evening Bianca was sure.

Bianca had thought she knew every out of the way restaurant and bistro in the city, but she had been wrong; and Senderens was a gem. From the subtle, understated, yet elegant furnishings to the music playing softly on well hidden speakers and the warm mahogany woods and mirrors, Bianca was enchanted. If the food was as good as the atmosphere it would be almost perfect. She wondered, and not for the first time since arriving, why Maggie had chosen such a romantic place. She didn't want to get her hopes up but one couldn't help but be swept up by the ambiance.

As the voices of Friday night revelers drifted from the main street a few blocks away, Bianca checked her watch again. Maggie was late. She fidgeted with her utensils and water glass like a teenager in fear of being stood up on their first date. She must look pathetic to the staff, who kept coming by and asking if she needed anything. She had even refrained from ordering anything to drink, though she sure could use a stiff one. Maggie had clearly wanted t take the lead and after offering initial resistance to the idea, Bianca had finally relented; even agreeing to meet at the designated location rather then sending a car to pick Maggie up. She hoped she wouldn't come to regret that decision.

Finally, after another 10 minutes of aimlessly tinkering with the things on the table, she saw the brunette approaching on the street in front of the restaurant. Maggie noticed her by the window and greeted her with a tiny wave and slight smile; rushing into the open doors and past the staff to arrive at the table.

Bianca rose to take her wrap from her stepping in front of the waiter who had arrived to perform that task. He disappeared as quickly as he had appeared. The brunette's breath caught in her throat at the expanse of smooth skin the back of the dress revealed; then Maggie turned around and wholly stole the rest from her lungs.

The emerald green Christian Lacroix dress hugged Maggie's curves like a possessive lover. The plunging neckline blew right past tantalizing and was approaching naughty at lightening speed. Bianca could feel her pulse beating wildly in her neck; it was getting hard to see straight. Sexy, strappy shoes that wrapped lovingly around Maggie's legs to the knee completed the picture. Shiny chestnut hair cascaded down delicate shoulders and her eyes were sparkling. Bianca thought she looked radiant. She swallowed, her mouth suddenly very, very dry.

"You look…amazing," Bianca exhaled. "That dress is…wow. I don't think I've ever seen you look more beautiful."

Maggie blushed to the tips of her ears, the rose color blooming across her chest as well.

"Thank you," she said demurely, allowing the waiter to seat her. "It was a gift."

"From Lena I presume?" Bianca knew the question was probably inappropriate, but she had to know. Whoever had bought that dress had intimate knowledge of the body underneath; a mere acquaintance would never have chosen something so…sensual.

"Yes, for my birthday last year."

"She always did have impeccable taste. Wait, did you say last year?" Bianca sputtered. "How long have you two been seeing each other?" she blurted out the question ungracefully.

"Almost two years," Maggie answered without pause and with not even a hint of timidity. "But that's a topic for later. I'd really rather not talk about Lena right now."

"I'm sorry, I was just…" Bianca shook her head, and continued with a rueful laugh, I don't know what I was. Forgive the intrusion." _Wow_, Bianca thought, _two years?! Have I been dragging my feet for that long?_

"There's nothing to forgive. You're curious, I understand that. I'm happy to talk about Lena tonight; I was just hoping to get dinner out of the way before we moved on to the heavy stuff," Maggie smiled. It was a Mona Lisa type smile though, giving nothing of her feelings away.

_So it's serious_, Bianca thought, _I'm still not giving up on the dream_.

"Your relationship with Lena is heavy?" Bianca asked.

"It's….undefined," Maggie retorted, a bit of frustration showing in her tone that was quickly glossed over. "Can we move on?"

"Of course. Let's order." Bianca picked up the large menu and promptly hid behind it, castigating herself for stepping in it so soon.

Maggie knew what Bianca was doing behind that huge menu. Whatever her ex had been expecting the admission of a two year affair was certainly not it. No matter, Maggie was sure there would be painful realities they would both be forced to endure tonight.

The waiter came and they ordered dinner. Escargot to start and then roasted cod with chorizo cream sauce for Bianca, pigeon with crab meat and tea for Maggie, plus a bottled of wine recommended for their meal by the chef.

When Maggie returned her gaze to Bianca after having ordered for both of them she found the brunette appraising her with an odd look and a raised eyebrow.

"What?"

"Pigeon?" Bianca asked, amused.

"I know. Not really something I've ever been known to order in the past," Maggie laughed self-consciously. "Don't get me wrong, I still love my nachos and I eat at Anahuacalli whenever I get the chance, but the first time we came here she encouraged me to try something I had never even thought of, to be bold. The pigeon is delicious."

"I'm sure it is," Bianca said, as the scepter of Lena rose again.

"You can try some of mine if you wish."

Maggie's speech pattern had become formal, much like Lena's. _I guess that can happen when you are together that long_, Bianca thought bitterly. _I wouldn__'__t know, I wasn__'__t with either of them long enough to find out._

"I'd like that," she responded, trying to keep her thoughts from showing in her voice.

After a dinner spent in relaxed though sometimes stilted conversation about all things Pine Valley, and a dessert that had Maggie moaning and Bianca squirming in her seat, they ordered a second bottle of wine and prepared for a long talk.

"I'm sure you have questions," Maggie broached after the waiter had poured her the first glass and she nodded her approval.

"So do you, I bet."

Maggie nodded, looking at Bianca over the rim of her glass as she sipped her wine. "So, who goes first?" she asked.

"Why don't you decide, it's your date after all," Bianca smiled.

"Is that what this is?" Maggie asked.

"I'd like it to be," was the direct, almost flirtatious response.

_Typical Bianca_, Maggie thought, _zero to 60 in 10 seconds flat_.

"That's a bit presumptuous, don't you think?"

"Perhaps. But I would be remiss if I didn't state my intentions up front." Without waiting for a response, Bianca ploughed ahead, heedless of Maggie's obvious discomfort. "I've done a lot of thinking Maggie, over the last year and especially the last week. I'm ready to forgive you now. I want to get back what we had."

Maggie couldn't believe her ears. She finished the wine in her glass and sat it down, moving her chair slightly away from the table.

"This was a mistake," she said evenly. "I should go."

"Wait," panic was rapidly setting in for Bianca. "Why do you want to leave?"

Anger flashed in Maggie's eyes, white hot.

"Are you kidding me?! Did you really think it would be that easy? I mean God Bianca, I am **so** glad that you are ready to forgive me but what if _I__'__m_ not ready to forgive _you_?!"

Bianca's clueless and flabbergasted look in answer to that statement infuriated her even further. "I cannot believe you! Not to mention that you completely ignore the fact that I have a girlfriend."

"You said your relationship with Lena wasn't serious," Bianca replied, conveniently ignoring the rest of Maggie's outburst.

"I said it wasn't _defined_," Maggie clarified. "Not that it wasn't serious."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know your feelings for her were that strong," Bianca said.

_Neither did I, until right this moment_, Maggie thought.

"Can we start over?" Bianca pleaded. "It was going so well. I really don't want the evening to end this way."

Neither do I," Maggie admitted. "But let's leave the assumptions alone, shall we?"

"That's a good idea," Bianca said to her plate, almost afraid to look into the brunette's eyes. Maggie's sudden anger had taken her off guard. She had not been expecting that. "I have a lot to make up for. Please don't think I'm not aware of that."

"I was beginning to wonder."

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Bianca reached to dig for something in her purse.

"Stop saying that, we're starting over, remember?"

"Yes…right. On that note, an olive branch." Bianca pulled a photograph from her wallet triumphant. "I was going to give this to you later but now seems like a more appropriate time." She handed the picture to Maggie.

Maggie stared at the picture for long moments, tears shimmering in her eyes, tracing Miranda's face with a trembling fingertip. "She's beautiful," Maggie said, voice barely above a whisper.

"My biggest regret is not letting you see her. I should never have kept her from you, never used her to punish you."

"Does she remember me?"

"Of course she does. Oh Maggie, please believe me when I say I wouldn't let her forget. Not that I could if I tried," Bianca smiled. "And I did consider it," she acknowledged.

"Thank you for this. You'll never know what it means." Maggie put the picture away and wiped her tears. "Give her my love."

"I will. Perhaps some day soon you can come and see her. I know she'd love that."

"That would be great. She's getting so big and I have missed so much of her life," Maggie lamented. "Maybe we can work up to you and Miranda coming over for dinner. I know Lena would love to meet her."

Lena again, Bianca thought, the ever present yet unseen elephant in the room. Oh well, no time like the present. She poured them each another glass of wine, she suspected they were going to need it.

"So tell me about you and Lena."

"What do you want to know?"

"Everything." They both laughed. "But how about we start with how you…well…"

"It was a medical conference, if you can believe that," Maggie started. "I got involved with a research project during my internship. Lena is the CFO of the pharmaceutical company who sponsored the conference."

"Here in Paris?" Bianca had gotten the distinct impression last week that Lena and Maggie did not live together. Lena has spoken of her plane being late.

"No, the conference was in London, where Lena lives." Bianca shook her head and silently waited for Maggie to continue. "I buried myself in work after…anyway, it was quite the surprise, seeing her again after so long. And I wasn't exactly friendly at first."

"I can imagine."

"She was the last person I wanted to see but in the end she turned out to be just what I needed."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_Hilton London Metropole_

_Edgware Road_

_London, England_

_Spring, 2009_

"Maggie? Maggie Stone?" The heavily accented voice grated on her nerves and stopped the brunette cold. It was like nails on a chalkboard. _What fresh hell have I walked into? _It couldn't be. But when she turned around she found that her ears had indeed not deceived her.

She forced a smile onto her face. "Lena Kundera, as I live and breathe."

"It's good to see you," Lena said, kissing both Maggie's cheeks in greeting and seeming to actually mean the sentiment. "What brings you to London?"

"I'm part of the research group from Paris. You?"

"I live here now but I'm also CFO of Inatech."

"Our generous sponsor." _Great_, she thought, _now I__'__ll have to see her all week_.

"Yes. We'll be heavily investing in this project; the research is very promising from all the groups."

"The team leaders will no doubt be thrilled to hear that," Maggie said. "I'm sure you're wondering where Bianca is." Maggie broached the only subject she thought they had in common.

Lena looked at her as if she could see right through her. It was unnerving.

"Not exactly," Lena said.

She had kept tabs on Bianca constantly since the break-up; she'd even been secretly thrilled when she found out that Bianca and Maggie had finally admitted their feelings and gotten together in Paris. However, the whole world was now party to Bianca's current romance. With every passing article over the last year, Lena felt more sympathy for the brunette who had once been her nemesis. The London press, and she suspected the rest of the gossip rags as well, had not been kind to 'the ex'.

"I guess it was too much to hope for that the media frenzy surrounding Zoë might somehow skip her hometown." The anguish in Maggie's voice was palpable.

"Quite," Lena answered. "Do you…would you like to talk about it?"

"We don't have that kind of time," Maggie conveniently pointed out. "My next session starts in 15 minutes and I really need some coffee."

"How about after then?" Lena sounded almost eager, much to Maggie's surprise. "I'm free for the evening after this block of sessions. Drinks?"

Lena Kundera was the last person, besides Babe Chandler, that Maggie wanted to have a drink with much less pour her heart out to. She surveyed the woman standing before her. Poised, confident, still as infuriatingly beautiful as ever; she had obviously gotten over being dumped by Bianca. Perhaps she could share some insight, some nugget of wisdom that could assist Maggie with the gut wrenching pain that had become her constant companion.

_What the hell_, Maggie thought, _what could it hurt? _It wasn't like she had any better offers. An evening with Lena would sure beat spending another night alone with her guilt and regret.

"Sure," Maggie agreed. "Why not? Shall we meet in the executive lounge, say 8 o'clock?"

"It's a date," Lena smiled before walking off to join a group of colleges, leaving Maggie to contemplate what the use of that word might mean and why it even mattered.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"And did she?" Bianca asked, a hint of something indefinable in her voice. "Help you, that is?"

A wistful expression softened Maggie's features as she gazed out the window at a young couple walking by hand in hand, eyes only for each other; the young man feeding a sweet treat to his date. "Yes, she did. In more ways than you can imagine." She turned back to Bianca. "I don't think I'll ever be able to thank her enough."

"Is that why you're with her? Gratitude?"

"No," Maggie smiled sadly. "But it's interesting you say that, given you seemed to think that was the only reason I was with you."

"Something else I need to be sorry for." Bianca looked directly into Maggie's eyes. "The things I said to you…I was hurt. I know that's no excuse," she held up a hand to forestall Maggie's objection, "but you have to understand where I was emotionally then. You broke my heart."

"I did understand, I do." Maggie reached across the table and placed her hand atop Bianca's. "I was hurting too, though. I broke my own heart before you had a go at it; and then you shattered it. I think I can honestly say that if it weren't for Lena, you and I would not be sitting here right now."

What Maggie meant Bianca couldn't fathom. Had Maggie been so despondent that Lena had _literally_ saved her life? Or had Maggie simply wanted to back out of this meeting tonight? Either scenario left Bianca feeling less than confident and oddly grateful.

"You'll have to thank Lena for me then."

"You can thank her yourself. I'm hopeful that with enough time you'll get the opportunity."

Bianca wasn't sure she wanted to talk to Lena about Maggie but she imagined it was a conversation that might be inevitable. She wasn't looking forward to it in any event. She wasn't sure she could handle spending time with the two of them together, or if she even wanted to.

"And Zoë?" Maggie asked, the name on Maggie's lips sounded foreign to both of them. "Did he…_she_…help you?" At Bianca's confused look, Maggie clarified. "To get past it all, I mean?"

Bianca took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"Not in the way that you mean, no."

"But you said you were ready to forgive…"

"Oh I am, at least I think I am," she said more to herself than her ex. "But not because of anything Zoë did or didn't do while we were together."

"I see."

"You don't but that's ok. Zoë was…hmmm…" Bianca struggled to find the words. "Zoë helped me forget, or at least that's what I thought at the time. She really just encouraged me to bury my problems and feelings, hide them, run from them. After awhile we didn't even talk about you anymore, or what happened. She got very frustrated with me living in the past. In the end I think the relationship was more of a distraction than anything else."

"It sounds like you have it all figured out now though. She must have helped some, at least in getting you to see what was really going on."

"I wish I could say that were true. I didn't come to any of these revelations until well after she left me."

"_She_ left _you_?!" Maggie was openly stunned.

"Hard to believe isn't it?"

"You can say that again." Maggie had stopped reading gossip rags years ago, but she was still stunned she had managed to miss this.

"I'd really rather not," Bianca answered.

"I'm sorry."

"This is the one thing that is _not_ your fault," Bianca said, implying everything else had been. "Anyway I'm not sorry. I was attracted to her attraction for me. It wasn't healthy, I know that now. I just wish I wouldn't have gotten Miranda involved."

Maggie sat silent.

"I wanted a family so badly, a second parent for Miranda, I just couldn't see what I was doing to both of us; and Zoë. Miranda finally got attached only to have Zoë leave."

"What happened?"

"She made me feel wanted, desired."

Maggie was not ready to hear those details, that had not been what she meant. The thought of Bianca and Zoë…revulsion slithered up her spin making her shiver.

"No," she said quickly. "I meant to make her leave. You don't have to tell me if it's too soon. How long ago did it happen?"

"It's been over a year," Bianca replied. "And I don't mind telling you. That's what we're here for. As far as why she left," Bianca's smiled was strained, "it was a number of things I guess."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_Cambias Penthouse_

_Paris, France_

_Spring, 2010_

"Bianca, my darling, we need to talk." Zoë floated into the room looking every inch the concerned diva.

Bianca had feared those words for weeks. Zoë was spending more and more time at her London home or at her studio and making ever increasingly more lame excuses on telephone calls as to why she could not come home to Paris. The brunette had questioned nothing, just buried herself in work, ignoring the signs. She continued to beg Zoë to come and visit, to spend time with her and Miranda to no avail. Now it seemed she could avoid it no more. Bianca followed Zoë to the couch and sat across from her, Zoë gently taking her hands.

"I think you know what I'm going to say," Zoë began.

"No, Zoë," Bianca said, panic setting in and turning her normally beautiful voice into a high pitched whine. "We can work this out."

Zoë looked at Bianca as she would Miranda, indulgently with a hint of mirth.

"There's nothing to work out, Bianca, my love."

"That isn't true. I love you, Miranda loves you."

"You don't love me, Bianca. We both know that. If you did you would have gotten beyond…well…there's really no need to rehash it all again. Sufficed to say you aren't invested in this relationship and neither am I any longer."

Bianca eyes burned as hot tears scorched their way down her face. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying it's over Bianca. I can't wait any longer for you to deal with the betrayal of someone who was so obviously not worthy of you from the beginning.

"I am past it," Bianca said. "Though it isn't like you ever tried to help me."

"Please Bianca, don't insult my intelligence. You are not. You mope, you get lost in your own thoughts with no care for my feelings, you disappear for hours at a time and when we make love, rare occasion though it may be," Zoë said calmly, "it isn't me you see."

"Zoë…I…we…we can…"

"No, don't say it. It will just be an empty promise like every other promise you have made on this subject. I can't, WON'T, play third fiddle to your daughter and a ghost, and it isn't my job to be the exorcist."

"I thought you wanted Miranda to be your daughter too?" Bianca cried.

"I'm barely a woman; I'm not ready to be a mother. I don't know that I ever will be."

Bianca felt the scab being torn from her life, ripping open a wound that had never truly healed. She sobbed hopelessly into her hands, elbows on her knees.

"Don't you love me?"

"Of course I do. My feelings have nothing to do with it. As I said earlier, you don't love me. At least not in the way I deserve to be loved. Sometimes I don't even think you love yourself. You're still too wrapped up in a fairytale, a dream that never existed. And I can't spend anymore time waiting for you to wake up."

It was no dream for Bianca, it was a nightmare.

"I can change," Bianca almost begged and she hated herself for it but she hated the prospect of being alone, rather than just lonely, even more. "I'll get therapy."

"Therapy is probably a very good idea. But it's already too late for us. I'm sorry Bianca. You have no idea how much I wish it could be different. Perhaps some day it will be." Zoë stood. "I'm going back to London tonight."

"But you just got here! Aren't you even going to say good-bye to Miranda?" Bianca asked; her little girl would be home soon.

"I think it's best if I don't. No need to upset her. We're still friends Bianca and I plan to see you and the little munchkin as often as my schedule allows." It was a hollow promise and Bianca knew it. She broke down into a fresh torrent of tears.

"Don't cry, my love," Zoë said softly. "This is for the best."

"Zoë, I need you!" Bianca wailed.

"No, you need to deal with your problems and I can't help you with that. I don't want to be your therapist, I never did." Zoë grabbed her purse and her overnight bag. "I'll call in a couple of days to see how you are." She ran her hand through the still seated Bianca's hair. "Good-bye Bianca."

Bianca collapsed prostrate on the couch when the door closed behind Zoë, her heart bleeding out onto the floor, sobbing into the couch cushions. She felt utterly and completely alone.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Bianca, I am so sorry that happened," Maggie said, still reeling. The image of Bianca, broken and alone, because of Zoë was almost more than Maggie could bear; her own eyes awash with sympathetic tears.

"I was for the best. Zoë was right about that." A rueful laugh escaped Bianca's lips. "She was right about a lot of things actually. And to my surprise she did keep her promise. We are still friends, close friends, and she sends Miranda gifts from all over the world. She even visits we she can. It's awkward given her feelings for me and there have been times I wished we were still together but we work better as friends."

"Does she know about tonight?"

"God no!" Bianca sputtered, shaking her head violently, almost choking on her wine. "When she said I should deal with my issues this is not what she meant. She most definitely would not approve of _this_."

Momentarily taken off guard by the answer, Maggie nonetheless let it roll off her back. Flashing her patented Stone grin she said, "Well, it's a good thing she has no say in the matter then, isn't it?"

"Yes," Bianca replied with an answering smile, "I guess it is."

While the laughter died down and they poured the last of the wine into their glasses, Bianca surveyed the woman sitting across from her. Gone was the Maggie Stone of old. She was more breathtakingly beautiful than Bianca remembered, if that was possible, but she was also more poised, more confident, more self-aware. No more demons lurking behind those eyes or sadness wearing her down. She was a far cry from the woman Bianca had last seen standing on her penthouse doorstep, sobbing and begging to be taken back as if her life was ending. She didn't know how that made her feel exactly. This was a Maggie Stone that Bianca had never had the pleasure of knowing and she wanted to. She missed their easy banter, Maggie's unwavering friendship, that grin.

"So where are you living now, Maggie?" Bianca asked, trying to draw attention away from the fact that she couldn't stop her eyes from lingering over Maggie's body in that dress. She took another ginger sip of her wine. "Still in the city?"

"Yes actually, though in a much different neighborhood. I'm living in Greenlee's old condo, apartment, whatever. Although I really should force myself to start referring to it as mine." At Bianca's confused look, she continued. "She deeded it to me when she left Paris." Maggie explained.

"You knew she was back in Pine Valley then?"

"I did," was the slipped answer.

Bianca didn't know why she was surprised, Greenlee had hardly been absent from their lives while they were together. Maggie had been her rock, why wouldn't Greenlee return the favor? Still, Bianca felt almost irritated.

"Why did you let me go on and on about it all if you knew?" Bianca's ire was unmistakable, though the source was not. "Why didn't you warn us?"

"First of all," Maggie smoothed her dress, drawing Bianca's attention away from the conversation once again to focus on the curves the dress did nothing to hide. "I like it when you talk about your family. You get animated in a way you don't when speaking of other topics. Second, it's always good to get a different perspective. Greenlee's storytelling and take on events can be a bit one-sided at times. Finally, as far as warning you, I didn't feel I owed that to any of you." It was a very pointed statement and it hit its intended target with surgical precision. "Greenlee asked me not to say anything and I honored her wishes. My loyalty was and is to her."

Bianca was once again taken aback by her ex's honesty. It forced her to be just as forthcoming.

"I guess I can't blame you for that."

"Now _that__'__s_ progress."

"I know my family was less than friendly to you…before. But to Kendall's credit I don't think she approved of me sending you away."

"Too bad you didn't listen to her then isn't it?"

It was a statement Bianca agreed with but she let it slide.

"Maggie, I hate this distance between us."

"You can't expect it to go away because of one friendly dinner, Bianca."

"I know, it's just…I want…" She shook her head. "I don't know what I want. I just…I just miss you."

"On that note, I should go," Maggie stood abruptly.

Bianca sighed, "Do you have to?"

"No, but I should. This has been a lot to take in. We both need time to let it all sink in, to process."

"You're right, of course."

"A rare occasion," Maggie deflected.

"Somehow I doubt that."

Bianca was correct. Maggie's instincts had gotten better, sharper, over the years since they had parted. The brunette could just tell by watching the way Maggie moved, the depth in her eyes. Bianca didn't want to guess what part Lena might have played in the transformation. Clearly Maggie had done far more in their time apart to heal than Bianca herself had, and it showed.

They stood outside the restaurant side by side, each lost in their own thoughts. The meal may have been long since digested but the conversation was not.

Bianca's driver pulled the long sleep town car up to the curb. She turned toward Maggie.

"Are you sure you won't let me take you home?" Bianca wasn't ready to let Maggie go just yet.

"I'm sure. It really isn't that far and I like walking, it helps me clear my head."

Bianca nodded as if she understood but she had not heard a word Maggie said. Her thoughts were in turmoil, caught in the nebulous region at the end of a date where no one knows exactly what is expected of them. _Do I kiss her?_ Bianca asked herself, _shake her hand?_ One option seemed far too familiar and the other not familiar enough.

Seeing her ex's trepidation, Maggie decided for her and stepped forward to envelope Bianca in a fierce, lingering hug; closing her eyes against the rush of emotions that being in Bianca's arms again caused to cascade through her mind and body.

When they finally pulled apart, two sets of eyes shimmered with unshed tears.

Maggie cupped Bianca's cheek in a sure hand and spoke around the lump in her throat, pushing out the words, her voice smooth and deep like warm dark chocolate.

"You're still so beautiful it takes my breath away." she said, caressing smooth skin, her thumb traveling across a trembling, full bottom lip.

The moment was electric, the connection between them springing to life seemingly out of nowhere.

Bianca got into the car quickly before she did something that would ruin everything, like grabbing the sexy little brunette and kissing her senseless.

Maggie waved off the driver and closed the door behind Bianca, smiling when Bianca immediately lowered the window.

"I'll call you soon," Bianca said.

Maggie placed her hand over Bianca's on the door panel.

"I look forward to it."

Another long pause, rife with unspoken emotion, was broken by the sound of the driver clearing his throat.

"Good night Maggie. Give Lena my best."

Maggie looked down at their hands, fingers loosely entwined. _When had that happened_, she wondered.

"I will. Good night Bianca."

Maggie pulled back her hand slowly, reluctantly. Before she could think of all the reasons she shouldn't, all the reasons to be calm and level headed, Maggie had leaned into the car.

As she placed a tender kiss upon Bianca's parted lips she could almost feel the hand of destiny reach down and awake the Fates, prodding them to begin weaving the tattered edges of her former life back together. Her only thought, watching Bianca's car disappear into the dark Paris night was, _What am I going to say to Lena?_

_TBC_


End file.
